לעילוי נשמת
ר' יוסף יהושע בן אברהם שלום (אספלר) ז"ל
הרב אלכסנדר סנדר בן אברהם (שיזגל) ז"ל
הַקִּנְאָה וְהַתַאֲוָה וְהַכָבוֹד
Separated from Heaven by Three Fingers
Translated and summarized from the shiur delivered
at Mevakshei Hashem – Elad, Israel
on 25 Tishrei 5783 (October 19, 2022)
This shiur is sponsored by Marcia and David Steinlauf
of Montreal, Canada
PUBLISHED FOR PARSHAT BERESHIT 5783 (2022)
To receive future editions, join the “Torah of Rav Rosenblum” WhatsApp group:
https://chat.whatsapp.com/IVbp1gG7iIoKwt26manbZI or https://tinyurl.com/2anam3ft
בס"ד
הַ קִּ נְ אָ ה וְ הַ תַ אֲ וָה וְ הַ כָבֹוד
Separated from Heaven by Three Fingers
We do not usually talk publicly about Ma’aseh Merkavah (literal translation: workings of the Chariot) – the most
hidden, mystical, and esoteric parts of the Torah. These topics are typically learned privately and cautiously from
individuals experienced in the subject matter. There is, however, one item connected to Ma'aseh Breishit – the
Creation, which I’d like to explore, focusing more on its results than its composition. It says on the second day:
ֹלהים אֶ ת־הָ ָר ִקיעַ ַוי ְַב ֵּדל בֵּ ין הַ ַמיִם אֲ ֶשר ִמ ַתחַ ת לָ ָר ִקיעַ ּובֵּ ין הַ ַמיִם אֲ ֶשר ֵּמעַ ל לָ ָר ִקיעַ ַוי ְִהי־כֵּן׃
ִ -ַויַעַ ׂש א
G-d made the canopy, and divided the waters which were beneath the canopy, from the waters which were above
the canopy, and it was so. (Bereshit 1:7)
Targum Yonatan ben Uziel explains that Hakadosh Baruch Hu created the Rakia and its size is – ְתלַ ת אֶ צְ בָ עָ ָתא
that of – ָשֹלש אֶ צְ בָ עֹותthree fingers. The source for this explanation is a gemara in Chagigah (15a) describing an
incident where ben Zoma did not stand up to honor Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya, his rebbe. Rabbi Yehoshua
ben Chananya noticed and asked: ּולאַ יִן בֶ ן זֹומָ אְ – מֵּ אַ יִןfrom where did you come and where are you going, ben
Zoma? In other words, “What is on your mind?” The Maharsha1 explains he intentionally phrased his question
with language from Akavia ben Mahalalel (Avot 3:1) because he feared ben Zoma didn’t stand due to – גַאֲ וָה
haughtiness, and he wished to instill humility and remind him from where he came and to where he is going2.
Ben Yehoyada3, who quotes the Maharsha, vehemently disagrees at the thought he was suspicious of another
tzaddik. He says Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya recognized he was engrossed in the Ma’aseh Merkava and the
language of his question reflects ten sefirot, each beginning with – אַ יִןAyin and ending with – אָ נִיAni. He was
purely interested in knowing where ben Zoma was holding in the matter. Ben Zoma responded to his rebbe:
ֹלהים ְמ ַרחֶ פֶ ת
ִ - ״וְרּוחַ א: ֶשנֶאמַ ר, וְאֵ ין בֵ ין זֶה לָ זֶה אֶ לָ א ָשֹלש אֶ ְצבָ עֹות ִּב ְלבַ ד,ִיתי בֵּ ין מַ יִם הָ עֶ ְליֹונִים ְלמַ יִם הַ ַת ְחתֹו ִנים
ִ צֹופֶ ה הָ י
.עַ ל ְפנֵּי הַ מָ יִם״ — כְ יֹונָה ֶש ְמ ַרחֶ פֶ ת עַ ל בָ נֶיהָ וְאֵּ ינָּה נֹוגַעַ ת
In my thoughts I was looking upon the act of Creation, at the gap between the upper waters and the
lower waters, as there is only the breadth of a mere three fingers between them, as it is stated:
“And the spirit of G-d hovered over the face of the waters” (Bereshit 1:2) like a dove hovering over its
young without touching them (Chagigah 15a).
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya then told his students: – ע ֲַדיִין בֶ ן זֹומָ א ִמבַ חּוץben Zoma has not yet achieved
complete understanding of these matters.
In a different version of this story (Bereshit Rabbah 2:4), it says Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya asked Ben Zoma
where he just went off to, figuratively, and swore not to move until ben Zoma revealed what he saw. Upon being
told the answer involving three etzba’ot between the mayim elyonim and mayim tachtonim, Rabbi Yehoshua ben
Chananya told his students Ben Zoma was no longer with them. Ben Zoma died a few days later.
This episode is referenced in the well known gemara (Chagigah 14b) of – אַ ְרבָ עָ ה נִכְ ְנסּו בַ פַ ְר ֵּדסfour who entered
Pardes. Ben Azzai glimpsed at the Divine Presence and died; ben Zoma glimpsed and lost his mind (was stuck
1 Maharsha – Shmuel Eidels (1555-1631), Poland.
2 This reminds me of what Rav Aharon Leib Shteinman once told me. There are two Tannaim with mishnayot that generate
opposite reactions. When people hear “Akavia ben Mahalalel” they immediately panic and are overcome by visions of a funeral.
In contrast, when they hear “Chananya ben Akashia” they immediately smile as they are about to go home!
3 Ben Yehoyada – The Ben Ish Chai – Rabbi Yosef Hayyim of Baghdad (1860-1900), Baghdad, Iraq.
Page 2
in the upper world, like to honey); Acher (Elisha ben Avuya) glimpsed and became a heretic; Rabbi Akiva came
out safely.
Yalkut Hageirshuni4 brings an idea from the sefer Matok MiDvash5. What is the significance of the rakia being
three etzbaot – three fingers, in size? In Massechet Pesachim (50b), the gemara reconciles a contradiction
between two pesukim in Tehillim that pertain to heaven: – כִ י ָגדֹל מֵּ עַ ל ָשמַ יִם חַ ְס ֶדָךFor Your faithfulness is higher
than the heavens (108:5) and ד־שמַ יִם חַ ְס ֶדָך
ָ ַ – כִ י־ ָגדֹל עFor Your faithfulness is as high as heaven (57:11). Is it only
up to heaven, or higher than heaven? The conflict is explained by attributing each pasuk to a different type of
mitzvah observance and Torah learning. When someone learns Torah lishmah – for its own sake, the Torah
ascends above the heavens. However, someone who learns Torah lo lishma – for reasons other than its own
sake, that Torah only reaches heaven but not beyond. We know that a reference to water is also a reference to
Torah, as learned in the gemara (Bava Kamma 17a) from the pasuk – הֹוי כׇּל־צָ מֵּ א ְלכּו לַ מַ יִםAll who are thirsty, come
for water (Yeshaya 55:1). Torah, like water, originates from above and flows down to anywhere it can reach. With
that definition, when we say the rakia separates between the upper waters and lower waters, we are essentially
saying the separation between Torah lishma and Torah lo lishma is three fingers!
Shvilei Pinchas6 (Bereshit 6) asks a fundamental, and necessary, question on this idea. If we say Torah learned
lishma rests above the rakia and Torah learned lo lishma remains below it, and the difference between them is
three etzbaot – what exactly are those three fingers which separate the two? Pirkei Avot (4:21) teaches us:
יאין אֶ ת הָ אָ ָדם ִּמן הָ עֹולָ ם
ִּ ִּהַ ִּקנְ אָ ה וְהַ ַתאֲ וָה וְהַ כָבֹוד מֹוצ
Envy, lust and honor remove a person from the world.
These are the three fingers that differentiate between the two types of Torah! Someone who learns for any of
these three reasons, their Torah remains below. These three midot – attributes or traits, exist in the world, and
their existence is necessary for the world to continue. However, man must limit them. They must be used in a
positive manner, such as having – ִקנְאָ הenvy, for greater knowledge, as opposed to greater fame and fortune.
The Saba (Alter) of Kelm7 says this is why each is called a ‘Mida’ – it needs to be with the correct measurement.
Too much of it will remove you from the world.
Shvilei Pinchas adds another beautiful idea. If you have these three items - הַ ִקנְאָ ה וְהַ ַתאֲ וָה וְהַ כָבֹוד, yet still want your
Torah to elevate above the heavens, the Torah provides you with a formula. We read in Vayikra:
ל־בנֵּי אַ הֲ רֹן הַ כֹהֲ נִים ו ְָק ַמץ ִמ ָשם ְמל ֹא קֻ ְמצֹו
ְ ֶי־ת ְק ִריב ׇּק ְרבַ ן ִמנְ חָ ה לַ ה’ סֹ לֶ ת י ְִהיֶה ׇּק ְרבָ נֹו ְויָצַ ק עָ לֶ יהָ ֶש ֶמן ְונ ַָתן עָ לֶ יהָ ְל ֹב ָנה׃ וֶה ִביאָ ּה א
ַ ְִונֶפֶ ש כ
ׇּל־ל ֹבנ ָָתּה ו ְִה ְק ִטיר הַ כֹהֵּ ן אֶ ת־אַ זְ כ ָָר ָתּה הַ ִמזְ בֵּ חָ ה ִא ֵּשה ֵּריחַ נִיחֹ חַ לַ ה’׃
ְ ּומ ַש ְמנָּה עַ ל כ ִ ִמסׇּ לְ ָתּה
And when any will offer a meal offering to the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil upon it,
and put frankincense upon it: and he shall bring it to Aharon’s sons the priests: and he shall take from it his handful
of its fine flour, and of its oil, with all its frankincense; and the priest shall burn the memorial part of it on the altar, to
be an offering made by fire, a sweet savour to the Lord: (Vayikra 2:1)
How do we bring a Korban Mincha? The Kohen takes a fistful of solet – flour, by using his three middle fingers to
scoop it up, and his two outside fingers to brush off the excess on either side (Yoma 47a; Menachot 11a). How can
you elevate the Torah you learned with the midot of kinah (envy), ta’ava (lust), and kavod (honor)? Perform a
Mincha. Fold your three middle fingers! Minimize these three ta’avot – desires!
Pirkei D’Rabbi Eliezer8 (13:1) speaks about the sin of Adam HaRishon in conjunction with this Mishna in Pirkei
Avot. We’ll simplify an extremely deep and complex subject to a very basic level. Adam HaRishon was instructed
4 Yalkut Hageirshuni – Gershon Stern (1861-1936), Luduş, Romania.
5 Matok MiDvash – Yitzchak Parchi (1782-1853), Yerushalayim.
6 Shvilei Pinchas – Pinchas Friedman shlit”a, Yerushalayim.
7 The Saba (Alter) of Kelm – Simcha Zissel Ziv Broida (1824-1898), Kelmė, Lithuania; Student of Rav Yisrael Salanter.
8 Pirkei D’Rabbi Eliezer – composed by Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus (1st-2nd century) during times of the Mishnah.
Page 3
to act a certain way: – ִמכֹל עֵּ ץ־הַ גָן אָ כֹל ת ֹאכֵּלYou may certainly eat from every tree in the Garden; and instructed
not to act a certain way: – ּומֵּ עֵּ ץ הַ ַדעַ ת טֹוב ו ָָרע ל ֹא ת ֹאכַל ִממֶ נּוBut from the Tree (of) Knowledge of what is good and
evil, you shall not eat from it (Bereshit 2:15-16). As long as he ate from all the garden’s trees, he would be fulfilling
the ֲׂשהֵּ – ִמצְ וַת עthe positive commandment. If he were to eat from the eitz hada’at, he would be transgressing the
ֲׂשה
ֶ – ִמצְ וַת ל ֹא ַתעthe negative commandment. After receiving these commandments, Adam HaRishon went to
sleep. Upon seeing that man was nowhere to be found, the snake began to persuade Chava. First, to touch the
eitz hada’at, and then upon seeing nothing happen, to eat from it. A famous question is asked on this story: What
type of tree was it? There are three opinions brought in the Gemara (Brachot 40a; Sanhedrin 70a): Wheat, Grape,
and Fig, along with a fourth opinion in the Midrash (Pesikta D’Rav Kahanna 20:6) where Rabbi Abba d’Acco says it
was an Etrog. We’ll return to this fruit shortly.
Of note, this chapter of Pirkei D’Rabbi Eliezer dealing with the sin of Adam HaRishon begins with the exact words
from Avot: יאין אֶ ת הָ אָ ָדם ִמן הָ עֹולָ ם
ִ ִִהַ ִקנְאָ ה וְהַ ַתאֲ וָה וְהַ כָבֹוד מֹוצ. Why does it begin this way? What is the connection
between the two? The Mishna says, “HaAdam”. Not man generically, but The man. “Number One” – Adam
HaRishon, who was forced from his world because of these three sins. (The exact nature of each sin and how it
manifested itself in Gan Eden is a topic too extensive to cover here. It is detailed in the Midrash as well as in
numerous commentators and works of chazal.)
I would like to extract, ב ִסי ְַע ָתא ִד ְשמַ יָא,
ְ just one idea from this story that I was privileged, בעֶ זְ ַרת הַ ֵּשם,
ְ to uncover
recently. I set aside multiple books to learn over Sukkot, some in preparation for Rosh Hashana 5784, which will
take place on Shabbat, and where we will blow the Shofar Gadol on Shabbat in the Beit Hamikdash, according to
its special halachot. Included in these books was the sefer Bnei Yissaschar9. In his ma’amar on Rosh Hashanah,
he brings a heart-warming idea from the Kedushat Levi – Rav Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev10 that allows us to
see the sin of Adam HaRishon in a new light.
On Shabbat Shuva we read the Haftarah from sefer Hoshea (14:2). We learn from the Midrash that Hashem told
Reuven: – אַ ָתה פָ ַת ְח ָת ִב ְתשּובָ ה ְת ִחלָ הYou were the first one to do teshuva; ּופֹותחַ ִב ְתשּובָ ה ְת ִחלָ ה ֵּ חַ יֶיָך ֶשבֶ ן ִבנְָך עֹומֵּ ד-
and [as a reward] I swear that your grandson will stand and open the way to teshuva (Bereshit Rabbah 84:19). That
descendant was Hoshea, who called out the words שּובָ ה י ְִׂש ָראֵּ ל. The uniqueness of Reuven’s teshuva is not that
it was the first ever performed but that it was the first performed – מֵּ אַ הֲ בָ הout of Love. Adam HaRishon and Cain
performed teshuva, but only after Hashem reproached them, asking where they were and what they had just done.
After being rebuked, they acknowledged their wrongdoings and performed teshuva miyirah – out of Fear. Reuven
performed teshuva on his initiative without being rebuked for rearranging his father’s bed. The Kedushat Levi
brings a pasuk from that Haftarah: – יָשֻ בּו יֹ ְשבֵּ י ְבצִ לֹו יְחַ יּו ָדגָן ְוי ְִפ ְרחּו ַכגָפֶ ן זִ כְ רֹו כְ יֵּין ְלבָ נֹוןThey who dwell in His shadow,
shall return: They shall revive like grain and blossom like the vine; their scent shall be like the wine of Lebanon (14:8).
Bnei Yissaschar explains the words brought by the holy Berdichever. – יָשֻ בּו יֹ ְשבֵּ י ְבצִ לֹוWhen do we sit in the shade?
– יְחַ יּו ָדגָן ְוי ְִפ ְרחּו ַכגָפֶ ןWhy specifically dagan (grain) and gefen (grape vine)? Furthermore, we’re told to pick up the
arba minim on the ‘first day’ - ּול ַק ְח ֶתם לָ כֶם בַ יֹום הָ ִראשֹון,ְ which chazal explain is the first day of Cheshbon Avonot.
What exactly is cheshbon avonot?
The Kedushat Levi says that on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we all do teshuva, but that repentance is ִמיִ ְראָ ה
– out of fear. We then reach Sukkot and only then perform teshuva me’ahava – out of love. We sit נּותאָ ימ
ְ ֵּבצִ לָ ּה ִד ְמה
– under the shade of Emunah, and ִימינֹו ְתחַ ְב ֵּק ִני
ִ – וwithin Hashem’s embrace. If, upon performing teshuva
me’ahava, our sins are turned into zechuyot – merits, we can understand something magnificent here. It is the
first day of cheshbon avonot – accounting of our sins because until that point, the avonot were merely downgraded
9 Bnei Yissaschar – Tzvi Elimelech Spira of Dinov (1783-1841), Poland; nephew of Rav Elimelech of Lizhensk.
10 Kedushat Levi – Rav Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev (1740-1809), Poland, Belarus, Ukraine; The Berdichever.
Page 4
to shegagaot (accidental sins) on account of our teshuva miyirah. However, upon performing teshuva me’ahava,
they are now completely transformed into zechuyot, and therefore there’s a new cheshbon – a new score in play.
One where our old sins are tallied as merits.
Why does it say like a dagan and gefen? Why not like a eucalyptus and palm tree? The Kedushat Levi says when
you take the essence out from any fruit or vegetable, that fruit or vegetable is reduced a level. For example, if you
take an orange in your hand and eat it, you recite בֹורא ְפ ִרי הָ עֵּ ץ. ֵּ If you instead squeeze out the orange’s juice, that
bracha is now reduced to שהַ כֹל נ ְִהיָה ִב ְדבָ רֹו. ֶ The same progression for an apple, a pomegranate, a tomato, or a
carrot. However, there are two exceptions to this rule where the item’s status is elevated upon its transformation:
grapes and grain. Squeezing the juice from grapes results in a bracha of בֹורא ְפ ִרי הַ גָפֶ ן. ֵּ Extracting from the grain
and grinding it for the making of food results in a bracha of either הַ מֹוצִ יא לֶ חֶ ם ִמן הָ אָ ֶרץor בֹורא ִמינֵּי ְמזֹונֹות,
ֵּ both a
higher level than the original. – יָשֻ בּו יֹ ְשבֵּ י ְבצִ לֹוThey who dwell in his shadow, shall return. Our sins are upgraded
into merits by sitting in our Sukkah and performing teshuva out of love.
How does this relate to us on Shabbat Bereshit?
Adam HaRishon sinned by eating from the – עֵּ ץ הַ ַדעַ תthe Tree of Knowledge. What was the eitz hada’at? We
have four different opinions in the gemara and Midrash (grapes, fig, wheat, etrog), but the Torah does not tell us
what it was and ignores this detail completely. Ben Yehoyada (Brachot 40) asks about the nature of this debate in
the gemara. Does Adam HaRishon not know what he ate? He explains that there was one single tree and not four
different trees in play. On that tree, however, were multiple types of fruit. There was fruit with the taste of grapes,
figs, wheat, and etrogim. The Zohar says (Tikkunei Zohar 70) that each of the – ִש ְבעַ ת הַ ִמי ִניםseven species grew on
the eitz hada’at. It was one tree that, similar to the manna, could produce any taste desired. The question,
according to Ben Yehoyada, is not what tree he ate from but rather which of its fruit he ate. Chazal present צשמט
deep understandings as to the characteristics of each fruit and their relationship to the state of Adam HaRishon
in Gan Eden both before and after the sin.
During the Yamim Nora’im and Yom Tovim we just observed, a fair number of mitzvot and minhagim serve as
tikkunim – corrections for the sin of Adam HaRishon, and they account for each opinion of which fruit was eaten.
On Rosh Hashana, we don’t sleep during the day. This is not to prevent a sleepy year, just as laughing during
the afternoon doesn’t mean one’s mazal will laugh at them all year or sitting quietly doesn’t mean it will be a quiet
and lonely year. Refraining from sleep is a tikkun for the origin of Adam HaRishon’s sin – the moment he went to
sleep (during the 10th hour of the sixth day). It was at that point the snake took advantage of his absence and
invited Chava to tour the garden and eat from the eitz hada’at. The Vilna Gaon11 says we do not eat grapes on
Rosh Hashana, because Adam HaRishon sinned by eating grapes from the eitz hada’at. This is another tikkun
and one for those who hold the original fruit was a grape.
On Yom Kippur, we fast a whole day – a tikkun for Adam HaRishon’s sin that was committed by eating. We also
focus on our innuim – afflictions, and by doing so mark the day as a tikkun for the kinah and sinah that were at
the origins of Adam HaRishon’s sin in Gan Eden. We recite the following just after the Avodah during Mussaf:
יֹום. יֹום אָ סּור ְב ִסיכָה. יֹום אָ סּור ִב ְר ִחיצָ ה. יֹום אָ סּור ִב ְש ִתיָה. יֹום אָ סּור בַ אֲ כִ ילָ ה. ..עַ ל כֵּן ְב ַרחֲ ֶמיָך הָ ַר ִבים נ ַָת ָת לָ נּו אֶ ת יֹום צֹום הַ כִ פ ִֻרים הַ זֶ ה
.וְתחֲ רּות
ַ יֹום עֲ זִּ יבַ ת ִּקנְ אָ ה.ימת אַ הֲ בָ ה ֵוְרעּות ַ יֹום ִּש. יֹום אָ סּור ִבנְ ִעילַ ת הַ סַ נְ ָדל.אָ סּור ְב ַת ְש ִמיש הַ ִמטָ ה
Therefore, with Your great mercy You have given us this Day of Atonement… a day on which it is forbidden to eat,
a day on which it is forbidden to drink, a day on which it is forbidden to wash a day on which it is forbidden to apply
ointments, a day on which it is forbidden to engage in marital relations, a day on which it is forbidden to wear leather
shoes. A day for restoring love and brotherhood, a day of abandoning envy and strife.
11 Vilna Gaon – “HaGra” – Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman (1720-1797), Vilnius, Poland/Lithuania.
Page 5
Additionally on Yom Kippur, according to the Midrash, at the conclusion of our fast a bat kol can be heard crying
out: ֲׂשיָך
ֶ ֹלהים אֶ ת־מַ ע
ִ - – לֵּ ְך אכֹל ְב ִׂש ְמחָ ה לַ ְחמֶ ָך ּושֲ ֵּתה ְבלֶ ב־טֹוב יֵּינֶָך כִ י כְ בָ ר ָרצָ ה הָ אGo, eat your bread in gladness, and drink
your wine in joy; for your action was long ago approved by G-d (Kohelet 9:7). Why bread and wine, and why eating
with joy? These, too, serve as tikkunim for Adam HaRishon’s sin. Two opinions hold the fruit he ate were grapes
and wheat. (Note: this is a different wheat than our wheat, with some opinions saying it resembled ready-made
bread more than the dry kernels we’re familiar with today.) Eating in joy also shows rectification of Adam
HaRishon’s punishment of eating his bread in sorrow: ֲבּורָך ְב ִעצָ בֹון ת ֹאכֲלֶ נָה כֹל יְמֵּ י חַ יֶיָך ֶ רּורה הָ אֲ ָדמָ ה בַ ע
ָ ֲ – אThe soil will
be cursed because of you. In sorrow you shall eat from it all the days of your life (Bereshit 3:17).
With regards to our mitzvot during Sukkot serving as tikkunim, Rabbeinu Bachya12 (Emor) speaks to the pasuk
of ּול ַק ְח ֶתם לָ כֶם בַ יֹום הָ ִראשֹון.
ְ Why does it say – הָ ִראשֹוןon the first, when it is already the 15th of the month? This is
to correct the sin of Avinu HaRishon, i.e., Adam HaRishon – the first to do an accounting of their sins. Doing so
with an etrog satisfies the opinion that this is the fruit he ate. If that is case, why is it not sufficient to take just the
etrog? Why do we need the other three minim? Rabbeinu Bachya says when a person wishes to fix – as in tikkun
– a relationship they damaged, they don’t do so by presenting just the item used in the original affront. If they want
reconciliation, they also bring with them a bouquet of flowers. Hakadosh Baruch Hu favors the bouquet of a lulav,
hadassim, and aravot. Additionally, on Sukkot, we cover the Sukkah with schach – a material that cannot become
ritually impure. Rashi on the gemara (Sukkah 9b) says we use ּוב ְפסֹ לֶ ת י ֶֶקב ִ – ְפסֹ לֶ ת גֹ ֶרן כְ גֹון ַק ִשיןthe refuse of our grain
and vines. Once again, why not branches from the eucalyptus or pomegranate trees? Because the Sukkah, too,
is a tikkun for Adam HaRishon. Like Adam HaRishon being exiled from Gan Eden, we exit to our Sukkah after
being given a sentence of exile on Yom Kippur (see shiur: “Sukkot and The Gift of Exile”), and that Sukkah is
covered with material linked to the original sin it corrects.
In this week’s parsha, we read about – חֵּ ְטא אָ ָדם הָ ִראשֹוןAdam HaRishon’s sin. We do so just days after the yamim
nora’im and yom tovim. In addition to the significance of each holiday – anointing Hashem as Melech, requesting
and receiving forgiveness, commemorating Bnei Yisrael sitting in Sukkot and under the Annanei Hakavod, etc. –
we can now see an additional, deeper, element of these days serving as a tikkun for that original cheit.
May Hakadosh Baruch Hu bless us as we enter the winter months, that the Yamim Nora’im and Yom Tovim we
celebrated ּוב ִׂש ְמחָ ה
ְ – ְבאַ הֲ בָ הwith love and joy, be a tikkun for those sins and all our sins, and may they strengthen
us to eliminate all – ִקנְאָ ה ַתאֲ וָה ְוכָבֹודall jealousy, lust, and ego, so that our Torah learning reaches the highest
heights of heaven, and the lives we live sanctify His name just as we’ll read in this week’s Haftarah:
:יתיו
ִ אתיו יְצַ ְר ִתיו אַ ף־ע ֲִׂש
ִ בֹודי ְב ָר
ִ ְכֹל הַ נ ְִק ָרא ִב ְש ִמי ו ְִלכ
Every one that is called by My name, and whom I have created for My glory,
I have formed him; I have made him. (Yeshayah 43:7)
12 Rabbeinu Bachya (Behaye) – Bahya ben Asher (1255-1340), Spain.
Page 6
